consequential one yet. that does it for us, now, it is time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. have a great night. it was three women, no, wait. six to ten women. but who is counting. survey says voters. >> i certainly understand that for many new yorkers this may disqualify me. >> new developments in weiner's sexting scandal. >> that is not keeping the former disgraced congressman off the trail today. >> like problems people have, this one, thankfully, is beyond me. >> god help new york if he is elected. >> now to our other top story. >> breaking news out of philadelphia. >> eric holder will have them -- >> to protect the voting rights of u.s. citizens.

>> i have directed them to shift resources. >> to reinstate authority over the voting rights in texas. >> texas's strict voter id law. >> this is a crisis, an emergency. >> it is exactly the right thing for the justice department to do. >> do you have a thought on how it will impact congress? >> by the way, congressman steve king -- >> iowa congressman steve king stands by his comments. >> comparing immigrants to drug mules. >> representative king made comments that are deeply offensive. >> i think i have made that pretty clear. >> what i'm saying is factually correct. >> what he has said does not re -- reflect the american people or their values. >> i think i've made myself clear. >> so there you go.

we'll see how that plays. good evening, i'm alex wagner in for lawrence o'donnell. carlos danger's sexting promise. >> he made his promises, he had changed, he was a better man now. i am proof that that is not true. >> do you think he was trying to pull one over on the voters of new york? >> oh, absolutely, he wouldn't have went on the whole, oh, i'm a changed man, learned my lesson. he wouldn't have said all of those things if he was not trying to be someone he was not. >> as for carlos danger, his pants are unflago, while his campaign is starting to cool. he prepared meals with volunteers. later, when speaking to reporters, he was questioned,

not about his plans for the city of new york, but why he said he is no longer sending lewd messages to women who are not his wife. >> these things did take place before and after i resigned. over a period of time, sometimes they didn't go consistently, whatever, but the point is, they're behind me, a year ago at least. >> okay, wait. it is a year ago at least. according to the reports from thedirty.com, the site where oh, my god, we can't send those pictures, things were already tense by 2012, already talks of the sex condo and having sexual conversations. we would send naked images to each other and have phone sex. carlos danger would send me e-mails. by november 2012, our relationship began to fizzle out.

august 2012 is 11 months ago. november 2012 is only seven months ago. neither is "a year ago at least." today,-- thedirty.com, published the sexting photos, but as with everything else, oh, my god, we can't show them on tv. his unfavorability has gone up. 55% have an unfavorable impression of him, only 30% give him the thumbs up. that is the opposite of last month, when 36% had an unfavorable one. carlos danger is now trailing his main democratic rival in the mayor's race by nine points. 26 to 16%. last month, this same poll put weiner out in front by five points. today, anthony weiner, also finally, sort of answered this

question. >> how many women were there? can you remember? >> there are more than -- there are few -- i don't have a specific number for you. >> ball park number? >> it is not dozens, and dozens, six to ten, but i can't tell you what absolutely somebody else will consider inappropriate or not. >> joining me is chris hayes, and steve kornacki. gentlemen, it is unfortunately our viewing public couldn't see you with your forehead on the desk. as anthony weiner gave yet again i want say with certitude answer, can we cue up this videotape? >> a lot of people looking at this stuff on our behalf are cautioning me, that stuff gets manipulated. you can change a photograph, you can manipulate a photograph or doctor it.

i don't want to say with certitude it maybe didn't start out being a photo of mine, and looks different, was maybe from another account that got sent to me. i can't say for sure, i don't want to say with certitude, i am not trying to be evasive. >> chris, is there any reason new yorkers should trust his answer on this? >> look, i don't think anthony weiner should be mayor for a number of reasons. i would go through about 20 before i got in this. what you see is what reflects in the polling. circus is a thing created by the media, but he seems to thrive off of that, i just thought just stop talking to the press. >> or stop sexting with six to

ten women after you're apparently on the road to rehabilitation. >> well, look, clearly, incredibly compulsive behavior on his part. from a political perspective, getting out how people feel about this morally, what is frustrating and also a turnoff to new york city voters is that you don't want -- this is not what you want the mayoral race to be. frankly, there was a day of headlines and a sort of prurient thrill. but the city, 8 million people live here. it is a very important election. and this is not what i really think anybody wants to be talking about in any way. and if you're a voter, it is like just stop, stop, stop. >> and yes, it still trickles on. and the scandal, independent of his qualifications to be new york city mayor. i must read an excerpt, as a

congressman, anthony weiner was a spectacularly ineffective buffoon, alienating. yes, he is unfit to hold public office. it doesn't take a picture of his junk to prove that. >> well, to me, it is always the narcissm, sort of mixed with the ambition and recklessness. when people look at anthony weiner and look at chuck schumer and say this is the same politician, always on tv, always holding press conference. there is a fundamental difference between weiner and schumer. chuck schumer wanted to be a chemist, anthony weiner is a performer.

he learned how to cut corners so he wouldn't have to do the work behind the legislations. he would do the work after his colleagues had spent months working on the 911 bill, which he had nothing to do with. he would go to the floor of the house, have this eruption, being a big hero for standing up to the big republicans, without doing any work. >> he didn't get any legislation passed and couldn't build any coalitions. he was really, really mean to his staff. i mean, to go this far, with that as your record, and think you would be insulated. and think that people would forgive you or come to your assistance, when something like that breaks, i have to play the sound of nancy pelosi today. let's hear what the former speaker of the house has to say. >> let me be very clear, the conduct of some of these people we're talking about is so

reprehensible, so stunning, their treatment of women. they don't even realize it. they don't have a clue. if they're clueless, get a clue, if they need therapy, do it in private. >> here is a clue delivered by nancy pelosi. >> and the reference there about filner, who actually -- the allegations against him are far more serious, because they involve him groping constituents and staff members, so this is predator ore behavior. so is sort of astounding about this behavior is the raw exhibition of display. and the notion, embodied by his wife, that this guy, we should forgive all of this because of how great anthony weiner is, because he is such a spectacular

gift to the city of new york. he would be an amazing mayor of probably the hardest city in the world to govern. and there is no evidence -- >> there is evidence that he would be a terrible mayor. >> right, there is only the -- >> he was at the congressional office and ran it poorly. >> it is sort of like anthony's being a candidate, there is no there, there. see, the other piece of this, and chris touched on huma abedin, and the clintons stayed in the background, regarding talking to abedin, but we're seeing clips of bill clinton, this rehashing his scandal. bill clinton married the two. i guess there is a link between them. i can't imagine this moment makes the clintons particularly happy if hillary clinton is thinking about 2016. >> it has driven me a little nuts this week, narcissism and recklessness with bill clinton, what happened with him in the '90s. what happened with him became an excuse for republicans who tried to make him non-legitimate.

there was a reason, i think for the democrats to rally around bill clinton, even of they believe he behaved narcissistic. and with anthony weiner, somebody who is saying let's put this all aside, make me mayor when there are six other choices out there. >> and the one coming out, there reason there -- the reason is there is a certain type of fascination. there is the incorrigibility of it. the thing that was remarkable about the bill clinton situation, it almost tanked his

campaign before he ever became president of the united states. the idea is, whoa, man, close call on the road there. buckle up next time, don't have a few drinks before getting behind the wheel. that is the thing, and a lot of us are looking at this with exasperation. >> i will leave america with three names, carlos danger, sidney leathers, chris hayes and steve kornacki, thank you for joining us. >> thank you. >> coming up, the fight against voter suppression, and later, the situation with minority voters gets worse. and steven colbert, assessment of the royal baby names. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] if you can't stand the heat, get off the test track. get the mercedes-benz you've been burning for at the summer event, going on now at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer. but hurry, offers end july 31st. it fills you with energy... and it gives you what you are looking for to live a more natural life. in a convenient two bar pack. this is nature valley. nature at its most delicious.

spanish officials are now investigating the crash that happened yesterday in spain, they suspect the train may have been running at twice the speed limit when it derailed. police plan to question the driver, who according to spanish news reports bragged about breaking speed reports. up next, the justice department's plan to fight texas on voter suppression. hey linda!

what are you guys doing? having some fiber! with new phillips' fiber good gummies. they're fruity delicious! just two gummies have 4 grams of fiber! to help support regularity! i want some... [ woman ] hop on over! [ marge ] fiber the fun way, from phillips'.

and today, i am announcing that the justice department will have a federal court in texas to subject the state of texas to a pre-clearance regime, similar to the one required by section 5 of the voting rights act. >> texas is first on the list of states with new restricted voter id laws. that attorney general eric holder intends to challenge. the justice department blocked the texas law in 2012 under the pre-clearance rule in the voting rights act. that rule forced states with a history of disenfranchising voters. two hours after the supreme court struck down that part of the voting rights act, texas reintroduced the voter id law. the justice department prohibited them from drawing up the lines made by the all-white representatives. >> based on the intentional race discrimination, in the

redistricting case texas v. holder, as well as the history of voting and minorities, they have ruled that they should be required to go through a process before they change their voting laws and process. this is the department's first action to protect the voting rights following the shelby county decision, but it won't be our last. >> the next step could be north carolina, the legislature now controlled by republicans is working on one of the most restricted voter id laws. the bill could disenfranchise more than 300,000 voters who don't have the correct state id's. it could cut a week off early voting and end same-day registration, which is actually popular.

joining me are alma adams and arie bermam, i would talk to talk to you as we look at texas and north carolina. the measures being proposed are some of the most restricted in the country. and yet you look at the numbers of people in north carolina. 56% of the state votes early. 70% of the people in north carolina support the current system. 75% say they voted early. could this strategy not backfire on north carolina republicans? >> absolutely, because the numbers that you mentioned are not just democratic voters. and so yes, it will impact all of the voters in our state regardless of party, whether they're unaffiliated. every voter will be impacted. and particularly those as you said, vote early. a number of our citizens vote early. they like voting early.

it is convenient. they like voting on sunday. it is convenient. and so this is going to have a tremendous impact. and i believe it is going to backfire. >> ari, you are i believe in texas, where the redistricting is somewhat shocking. and that is the first piece of legislation that the attorney general seems to be working on, which is to say the electoral maps that the committee has re-drawn. and i just want to quote some progress on that redistricting and re-rigging. they saw that the substantial changes were done to black representatives, cutting off offices from their strong fundraising districts. meanwhile, whites were protected, to include the country club and the in-coming governor's grandson. it was drawn in secret by the white republicans without notifying their other counterparts. i think it is something that happens in a bipartisan fashion. but the sort of racist

underpinnings of this redistricting are shocking to people and deplorable. >> well, absolutely, alex, that is why the redistricting law and the voter id law were voted on in the same week, which is unprecedented. texas has become a poster child for voter suppress. that is why the attorney general is starting with texas in terms of what they're going to do, post-section 5 act. you have a world where there is a tremendous amount of change in texas, really at the forefront of demographic change, that is why they have done everything they can to subvert the demographic change and subvert the minority voting situation. >> there seems to be real outrage over some of the restrictive measures, not just in terms of voting rights but a

host of our issues. how are people in north carolina, your constituents reacting to this proposal? and is there a sense of indignation around it? >> well, people are absolutely upset about what is going on. and they're demonstrating their displeasure about that. on monday they are coming to the general assembly, en masse, thousands have come, almost 800 people have been arrested already. and this is really the last draw. this voter intimidation act, which is exactly what we call it. we have not had an issue in north carolina with the voter bill. and this bill goes too, too far, creating all kinds of obstacles for people. they actually looked at ways people have been successful in

putting out this votes. it targets the african-american population, women, students, all the people who normally would vote and vote in large numbers, those will be the citizens impacted. and that was the part of the plan. not just for north carolina, but we think it is a national plan. we're unhappy about it. i think our constituents are unhappy, as well. >> they say it is a grand design, a concerted effort to make life difficult and make voting hard and making the democratic process something that not everybody is a part of. in texas, in legislative action, they include abortion restrictions, in north carolina, 700 thousand people have been cut from unemployment benefits. there are changes to the university, cuts to pre-k

programs. this is disenfranchising them. >> it really has been a forestep plan for subverting democratic. you win them with huge elections, which is what they did in 2010 and 2012. you gerrymander it so you can try to stay in power as long as possible. you pack a host of unpopular policies, that benefit one and hurt everybody else. and then make it harder for your political opponents to vote you out of office based on those unpopular policies. what the north carolina republicans are doing is so transparent, a blatant power grab, and people are going to see what is going on here and get motivated through other actions. >> all the more reason to watch what the attorney general does with the department of justice. ari berman, alma adams, thank

you so much for joining me tonight. >> thank you, very much. coming up, steven colbert goes gaga over the royal baby name. and speaker john boehner tells a member of his office to stop the deeply offensive commentary. the gop's struggle with comments is coming up. [ male announcer ] this is kevin. to prove to you that aleve is the better choice for him, he's agreed to give it up. that's today? [ male announcer ] we'll be with him all day as he goes back to taking tylenol.

i was okay, but after lunch my knee started to hurt again. and now i've got to take more pills. ♪ yup. another pill stop. can i get my aleve back yet? ♪ for my pain, i want my aleve. ♪ [ male announcer ] look for the easy-open red arthritis cap.

♪ could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. yep, everybody knows that. well, did you know some owls aren't that wise? don't forget i'm having brunch with meghan tomorrow. who? meghan, my coworker. who? seriously? you've met her like three times. who? (sighs) geico. fifteen minutes could save you...well, you know.

juror b-29 is the last woman

from the all a female jury in the george zimmerman murder trial that we are hearing from. she is the first one to show her face. in an abc news exclusive, the woman known as mattie, the only minority on the jury, speaks out for the first time in her decision to acquit george zimmerman in the murder of trayvon martin. >> i stand by the decision because of the law. but if i stood by the decision because of my heart he would have been guilty. >> i know you have heard, some people have said point blank, they said george zimmerman got away with murder. how do you respond to those people who say that? >> george zimmerman -- george zimmerman got away with murder. but you can't get away from god. >> up next, the struggle with race. being sixteen, alex thinks he's invincible.

his dad knows he's not. that's why dad got allstate accident forgiveness. it starts the day you sign up. [ female announcer ] with accident forgiveness from allstate, your rates won't go up just because of an accident, even if it's your fault. call 866-735-9100 now. kim and james are what you might call...overly protective. especially behind the wheel. nothing wrong with that. in fact, allstate gives them a bonus twice a year -- for being safe drivers.

[ female announcer ] get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. switch to allstate today! call an allstate agent now and see how much you could save. now that the kids are out of the house, so are frank and sandy. hitting every flea market they can find. but the best deal so far... is the one from allstate. [ female announcer ] drivers who switched to allstate saved an average of $498 a year! how much could you save? call 866-735-9100 and find out. [ dennis ] let an allstate agent help you save. are you in good hands? [ female announcer ] call an allstate agent and get a quote now.

♪ honey, is he too into this car thing? [ mumbling ] definitely the quattro. ♪ honey? huh? a5. what? [ sighs ] did you say something? ♪ for everyone who is a valedictorian, there is another one out there who weighs 170 pounds with calves the size of canteloupes because they're hauling marijuana.

>> today, they delivered canteloupes to his office. >> we wanted to deliver the melons, the comments are ridiculous. i'm an undocumented immigrant, and i had the highest grades. our legs are not that size, and even if they are, we're not drug runners, we're here to stay, we helped to build america. >> today, house speaker john boehner made absolutely clear what he thinks about congressman king's views on young, undocumented immigrants who may be granted a path to citizenship under the dream act. >> i want to be clear, there is no place in this debate for hateful or ignorant comments from elected officials.

earlier this week, representative steve king made comments that i think were deeply offensive and wrong. what he said does not reflect the valuing of the american people or the republican party. and we all need to do our work in a constructive, open and respectful way. as i've said many times we can disagree without being disagreeable. >> the reporter asked speaker john boehner whether comments like steve kings will make it more difficult to pass immigration reform in the house. >> it does make it more difficult. but i'm going to continue to work with members who want to get to a solution. as opposed to those who want to do nothing. >> the comments -- >> of course. >> two hours later, steve king went on the house floor and said this. >> that is what i'm advocating for, mr. speaker. i want the most logical, rational policy.

and i think we need a policy that is right for america. i have an obligation to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the united states. and represent my constituents and represent my state, and represent my country. and all of those things should be compatible with each other. and i believe they are. and i've not found myself in a conflict here between them. >> 69% of steve king's constituents in iowa's fourth congressional district want comprehensive immigration reform. 59% support a pathway to permanent residence for undocumented immigrants under the age of 15, including 51% of republicans and 50% of those who call themselves very conservative. joining me now, msnbc's joy reid and david corn, washington bury -- bureau chief of "mother jones."

i was impressed with john boehner's remarks, acknowledging the hateful remarks. and yet, steve king remains unbowed. let's hear what he says about child smugglers. >> but i can tell you this, 80 to 90% of illegal drugs consumed in america come from or through mexico. i can tell you that in mexico they are recruiting kids to be drug smugglers, between the ages of 11 and 18, the media is replete with this. anybody who reads the paper should know, especially those who live on the border should know that there are many, many young people coming across the border unlawfully who are smuggling drugs into the united states. >> joy, the reasoning there seems to be there are drug smugglers, therefore they must all be dreamers. there is in connection between the statistics he is spouting off. >> i can't imagine the republican party lost 72% of the latino vote. i can't figure it out.

even when he is not speaking, and doubling down on the cantelope calves, all gays are just bad, bad, women should be baby machines. the republican party is going to die if they don't weed out this frosting of evil that is on the top of what used to be a relatively sane cake. >> you know, david corn, joy refers to this as a frosting of evil. but in "mother jones," you guys have a really compelling piece about the underground republican coalition called "groundswell." it is a molten of conservative hatred. they're intent on taking down karl rove, john mccain, and lindsey graham, who are seen as traitors to the party.

>> i guess they have a caramel at the center of the story. yeah, we broke a story on "mother jones." and read it, about the leader of the group called "groundswell." they're coming up with coordinated messages and strategies to take them on, also karl rove because they think they're squishy and far too moderate. i have to tell you about politics here, even the people on the far right band of folks who know that they have a race problem, problem with minority voters. and we put out a lot of documents.

let me just, if i may, read from one right now in which they say this is from a february 28th meeting of groundswell. they write, we are failing the propaganda battle with minorities. terms like gop, tea party, conservative, communicate racism. now, listen, this was their answer. they wanted to -- to put forward a new twitter hash tag. a new term, they wanted to put this into play. frederick douglass republicans. >> and i believe in the memo, they spell the name frederick douglass wrong. >> they got it wrong, they realize there is a problem. but they think coming up with a fancy twitter hash tag. >> but their mechanics to fix the problem are even more offensive. this is reince priebus on the christian broadcast earlier this week responding to questions about whether the christian

right should be concerned that reince priebus has called on republicans to be more tolerant. >> first of all, i don't know if i would use the word "tolerant." i don't care for the word myself. i don't have a problem with it. i just think it has another meaning politically that can go the other direction. >> i mean, tolerance now is a four-letter word in the republican party? >> i mean, co-exist used to be the word they hated. remember when alan west said, why coexist with the muslims? we can't do that. the problem is that hash tags are not cool enough, the problem is them. they have to look in the mirror and say you know it is me, the fact that they have had 30-plus years of right-wing talk radio that is now on their tv and internet. everything at the core of their message is not about politics but hating everybody who doesn't look like them. >> it is divisive and fear-based. and david, what strikes me about this, one-on-one if somebody

wants to dismiss this as fringes and frosting, but their talking points. for example, immigration reform, they saw it as a life or death issue. they said if we lose on immigration, we lose on everything. the message on this issue has to be we can't trust obama to enforce immigration laws after the amnesty. that is exactly hook, line, and sinker. the line that republicans in congress have been giving to the public as to why they can't have comprehensive reform. >> you know, a lot of politics is about the use of language and the presentation of ideas. and so you have this group, "groundswell." and you have grover norquist doing this, as well. what we're seeing in this piece, they're looking for ways to come up with spin to cover major problems. and one memo that we published today, they say we have to convey things on the fourth grade level. that is what they think of voters. they have to come up with silly terms like frederick douglass

republicans? and you have reince priebus, who can't say the word "tolerance." and they still think he is far too moderate. all of these words reflect him and karl rove even, to say it has to be less strident to appeal to more people. they still have this civil war idea, with issues, and race issues, there are a lot of haters within their own ranks. >> it is amazing to me, rand paul said today, or yesterday, i don't think there is anyone in congress who has a stronger belief in minority rights than i do. from almost anybody in the republican party that would be a questionable statement. from him it is downright insulting. >> it is insulting because the

problem is that you have had two successive presidential campaigns, in which the presidential campaign on the republican side has decided to try to resist the talk machine. and not have that run the policy. but now they have just given up. what you have is that the right wing fringe is now enforcing the discipline on the normal politicians. so you have people who were classically deal makers like john boehner, and even mitch mcconnell, they're having this forced on them. so even the republican politics itself is having this hostage fringe. they are dragging everyone further to the right. and ginni thomas, by the way, if she is asking her husband, clarence, for guidance, good luck with that. >> and if clarence thomas is asking ginni thomas for guidance, we see where that leads. joy reid and david corn, thank you for joining us. coming up, steven colbert's unique take on the royal baby's name. this day calls you.

to fight chronic osteoarthritis pain. to fight chronic low back pain. to take action. to take the next step. today, you will know you did something for your pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a pain reliever

fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens, you have unusual changes in mood or behavior or thoughts of suicide. anti-depressants can increase these in children, teens, and young adults. cymbalta is not for children under 18. people taking maois, linezolid or thioridazine or with uncontrolled glaucoma should not take cymbalta. taking it with nsaid pain relievers, aspirin, or blood thinners may increase bleeding risk. severe liver problems, some fatal, were reported. signs include abdominal pain and yellowing skin or eyes. tell your doctor about all your medicines, including those for migraine and while on cymbalta, call right away if you have high fever, confusion and stiff muscles or serious allergic skin reactions like blisters, peeling rash, hives, or mouth sores to address possible life-threatening conditions. talk about your alcohol use, liver disease and before you reduce or stop cymbalta. dizziness or fainting may occur upon standing. take the next step. talk to your doctor. cymbalta can help.

your royal baby fever may have broken, but steven colbert's has not. especially now that we have a name. his royal highness, prince george alexander. the last one was the king, with his battle with speech, was depicted in the movie "the queen's speech." the full name of the queen is elizabeth alexandria mary. but die hard royal watcher steven colbert says none of that has anything to do with the royal nomenclature. >> welcome, cheerio, jolly good to have you with us.

as you can tell, i'm still in the throes of royal baby fever, which has me worried because you're supposed to starve a royal baby cold and feed a royal baby fever and i do not want to eat english food. me and the royal baby have so much in common in that both of our fontanelles are not closed yet. once the heir arrived there was only one question on every newsman's mind, how long is this still news? the answer, of course, until we get a baby name, dammit. >> britain's new prince is named prince george of cambridge. his full name is george alexander louis. >> oh, there is going to be another king george, that makes me want to establish our independence again, who is crazy? who peed blue?

georgy? now, folks, there is a lot of speculation over what these names would be, but i for one am not surprised. because as a royal watcher i know that will and kate are huge fans of seinfeld. and clearly, named the baby for george costanza, who is played by jason alexander, and julia-louis-dreyfuss, because just like seinfeld, the english royal family is really about nothing. >> coming up, anthony weiner and therapy.

wi drive a ford fusion. who is healthier, you or your car? i would say my car. probably the car. cause as you get older you start breaking down. i love my car. i want to take care of it. i have a bad wheel - i must say. my car is running quite well. keep your car healthy with the works. $29.95 or less after $10 mail-in rebate at your participating ford dealer. so you gotta take care of yourself? yes you do. you gotta take care of your baby? oh yeah! then you'll know how uncomfortable it can be. [ crickets chirping ] but did you know that the lack of saliva can also lead to tooth decay and bad breath? [ exhales deeply ]

[ male announcer ] well there is biotene. specially formulated with moisturizers and lubricants, biotene can provide soothing relief and it helps keep your mouth healthy, too. [ applause ] biotene -- for people who suffer from dry mouth. senate majority leader harry reid thinks hillary clinton would make a better president than her husband. reid appeared on last night's news hour on pbs, saying that hillary clinton may have a bigger fan, i just don't know what it would be. i think what she did as secretary of state will go down in history books as a remarkable job that she did. i of course had much concern for the president, i think they're a pretty good team. but she will handle things probably even better than he did.

up next, compulsion, addiction, or something else? and can anthony weiner actually get help for it? at farmers we make you smarter about insurance, because what you dont know can hurt you. what if you didn't know that it's smart to replace washing-machine hoses every five years? what if you didn't know that you might need extra coverage for more expensive items? and what if you didn't know that teen drivers are four times more likely to get into an accident? 'sup the more you know, the better you can plan for what's ahead.

talk to farmers and get smarter about your insurance. ♪ we are farmers bum - pa - dum, bum - bum - bum -bum ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] if you can't stand the heat, get off the test track. get the mercedes-benz you've been burning for

at the summer event, going on now at your authorized mercedes-benz dealer. but hurry, offers end july 31st. if you have high cholesterol, here's some information that may be worth looking into. in a clinical trial versus lipitor, crestor got more high-risk patients' bad cholesterol to a goal of under 100. getting to goal is important, especially if you have high cholesterol plus any of these risk factors because you could be at increased risk for plaque buildup in your arteries over time. and that's why when diet and exercise alone aren't enough to lower cholesterol i prescribe crestor. [ female announcer ] crestor is not right for everyone. like people with liver disease or women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. tell your doctor about other medicines you're taking. call your doctor right away if you have muscle pain or weakness, feel unusually tired, have loss of appetite, upper belly pain, dark urine or yellowing of skin or eyes. these could be signs of rare but serious side effects.

is your cholesterol at goal? ask your doctor about crestor. [ female announcer ] if you can't afford your medication, astrazeneca may be able to help. . the conduct of some of these people that we're talking about here is reprehensible, it is so disrespectful of women. and what is really stunning about it is they don't even realize it. you know, they don't have a clue. and it is really -- if they're clueless, get a clue. and if they need therapy. do it in private. >> nancy pelosi minced no words today when asked about the scandals involving san diego mayor bob filner and former congressman anthony weiner, who said he started to see a therapist after the scandal broke in 2011. here is how he answered the situation in brooklyn at a

campaign event. >> i sought help, i got help. i sought the help of my wife. and like problems that people have, this one, thankfully, is behind me. and this one has not occurred again -- i don't believe that it is -- people that i'm working with don't believe that it is. and i'll -- i'll leave it, there are some things that i want to have privacy between me and the people offering me this help. but the answer is no. >> joining me is sex therapist is dr. dow. thank you for joining us. i want to ask you first about the question of addiction. anthony weiner, the letters, the woman who has come out publicly this evening has told inside edition that she had phone sex with anthony weiner at least twice a week and the relationship lasted for six months. anthony weiner said there were six as to ten, possibly women, involved in this.

does this strike you as addictive behavior? >> listen, i think there are many hallmarks of addiction. this is somebody, a politician who has already lost a job. he may be losing a marriage. so yeah, i think we clearly see signs that do point to sex addiction in this case. >> insofar as we see he can't stop this behavior? >> absolutely, there are consequences on the line and they are still unable to with withdraw from the behavior or stop the behavior, this is one indication we look for. >> i think this is interesting, take a listen. >> he got a little bit controlling with me towards the end. >> how so? >> he would tell me that he would be jealous, he would look at my facebook frequently and tell me he would get jealous if other men would compliment me,

and just little stuff like that. >> sidney also revealed that she never had anthony weiner's phone number, that he would call from a blocked number, and he of course had hers. he was in control of this thing, and as she said, he was a bit controlling. what does that tell you about his psychological profile? >> well, it tells me this is a man who likes power. one of the criteria is using coercion to get what they want. namely sex. it is a huge red flag to me that this woman didn't have the number of the man she was having phone sex with. that there were a lot of women. this would be somebody who likes the power, and it is not necessarily somebody linked with a healthy relationship. >> weiner revealed in a new york times magazine profile that he started to see a sex therapist in 2011 when the scandal broke. this is what he said about the

conversation. >> it is none of the easy stuff, she did tell me you have -- she didn't tell me you had a sex addiction, you were abused as a child. >> i wonder, you know, she has obviously struck up the sexting again, what are the expectations of a therapist in this situation? is it usual or unusual to fall off the wagon as he seemed to have done. >> when you're talking about a process addiction, something like sex addiction in this case, or a chemical, traditional addiction, most people think of it as alcohol or drugs. yes, it is very common in these cases. however, i would say when you have that amount of power or when you're in the public spotlight you clearly need to be seeking treatment to the point where you're getting your behavior under control.

and i clearly think we see that in this case he was not getting enough therapy or he was not getting the standard of care that he was needing. because clearly, there are clearly more consequences and some really problematic behaviors. >> dr. mike dow gets tonight's last word. i'm alex wagner in for lawrence o'donnell. up next, "hardball" with chris matthews. new york decides. let's play "hardball." good evening. i'm chris matthews in washington. let me start tonight with this, public office. what is it today? what does it say to elevate one to public office? what does it mean to hold someone high and say he or she should be our leader, that this is the best of us, the leader we choose to speak for us, act for us, be for us t